The UmBlog

Why did God incarnate himself as the baby Jesus? Jesus says in John's gospel, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10 Jesus continues in this passage, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." v. 16 In Luke's gospel, after a tax collector's life changing encounter with Jesus, he says, referring to himself, "For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 The abundant life only begins in this one. It continues in the next. Jesus will accomplish his task, either in this life or the next one. What then are we to do who have already begun this abundant life? Tell the good news, not "turn or burn." 1 Peter 2:1-10  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may procla...

Today's Lenten reading started in 1 Timothy and ended in James. Good Friday has narrowed my focus. There's this bloody passage in Hebrews 9:11-15 Icon of the Crucifixion, 16th century, by Theophanes the Cretan (Stavronikita Monastery, Mount Athos) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God a...

Today's Lenten Bible reading covered 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians , Colossians , First and Second Thessalonians . Since it is Holy Week , my eyes and ears are tuned into the topic of the cross. Theological topics abound in the dense writing of Paul, so I am picking one topic, Good Friday and Resurrection Day . Here are some clips on that topic. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offeri...

In my edition of The Message , a Bible paraphrased by Eugene Peterson , he gives an introduction to each book. I don't normally read them, but today his introduction to Luke caught my eye. Luke, he notes, is the only non-Jewish writer of an entire book (two, including Acts ) to the Bible. He's also the biggest contributor to the New Testament. Luke's concerns include the outcasts, the marginalized, and the lost causes. I read only the first couple chapters, then put on my headphones and listened to the rest of it while puttering around the yard and house. Only one more week to finish the entire Bible during Lent . Peterson's introduction primed my eyes and ears to read and listen to those prayers, songs, and examples of God's concern for the weak. There is Mary's song.  Luke 1:51 God’s arm has accomplished mighty deeds. The proud in mind and heart, God has sent away in disarray. 52 The rulers from their high positions of power, ...

The gospels are my favorite part of the Bible. Last year I read them over and over again. I set a goal to read each gospel ten times. I used to like John 's the least, now it's my favorite. Mark 's is special to me because I learned with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship how to do manuscript study in it. My Lenten reading today is all of Mark. Mark writes like a comic book author. I am not saying that his gospel is fanciful, but that his style prefers action over character. There are parables and dialogs, but no multi-chapter sermon on the mount as in Matthew . For both gospels, I didn't finish the reading before I left for work, so I listened to the latter half of each book. While doing that this morning, I was struck by how often I thought I was listening to Matthew again. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are called the synoptic gospels . They share lots of material. But they have different emphases. Matthew's focus is on Jesus's kingship, a fulfillment of the Me...

The mega-Lenten-Bible-reading-plan enters the New Testament today. The gospel of Matthew is a great transition book from the Old Testament because he references the OT constantly. He's not just referencing the OT, but tells stories of Jesus fulfilling multiple predictions and allusions in the OT. Sometimes Matthew grabs verses which have nothing to do, in context, with the Messiah . Some verse-grabs are allusions to the nation of Israel (see Matt. 2:15). This tells me that Matthew wants us to see that Jesus represents God and humanity and Israel. Matthew's gospel is directed to Jews. His background is complicated. He's a Jew who collected taxes for Rome, a traitor to his people. Yet Jesus invited him to be part of his new people. Twelve students, disciples, who represent a new beginning, just as there were twelve sons of Israel. There's so much symbolism and cool stuff going on, more than I can condense into one blog. A couple riffs then; the sermon on the mount i...

In my local paper recently, I learned that a young man who used to be my neighbor, was charged with the crime of rape. The story is complicated, because his ex-girlfriend is the accuser. When the romance was reciprocal, their intercourse was acceptable, but once that reciprocity was broken, the same act was heinous and terrible. There are many directions to go with this. Keeping sexual intercourse within marriage is a good start, however, rape can happen within marriages as well. But my mind drew a line between this incident and something I read on a blog, which I can no longer find, equating promiscuity with worship. We are all made to worship God and the sensation of those experiences are similar in their aspect of transcendence. I've written about transcendence before and those other near miss attempts at transcendence ( sex , drugs ) that only true worship satisfies (see this post on other religions and the transcendent). But can rape be transcendent for the rapist? I wouldn...

I read this passage this morning and was arrested by it. Luke 13:23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” So he said to them, 13:24 “Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 13:25 Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord, let us in!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ 13:26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 13:27 But he will reply, ‘I don’t know where you come from! Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ 13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves thrown out. 13:29 Then people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table in the kingdom of God. 13:30 But indeed, s...

If you keep your radio station and MP3 collection to just "positive, family" music you might not know that many songs compare love to chemically induced states. Lately, on our long drives to and from grandma's my family listens to the "scan" station. We experience a wide diversity of music, We introduce the kids to songs we know from the 70's and 80's and they tell us what they like from their world. Tonight I heard for the first time Kesha 's, " Your love is my drug ." Since I wrote last week about our common pursuit for the transcendent , some choose drugs, some choose love, some choose religion, some get Jesus, I was interested in her version. Her lyrics mention things like, Because your love, your love, your love, is my drug Your love your love your love I said your love, your love, your love, is my drug Your love your love your love I don't care what people say The rush is worth the price I pay I get so high when you're with m...

When I started Ian Kershaw 's biography of Hitler 6 months ago, I expected to be done by now. I Cover of Hitler have a ways to go. I was re-interested in it after the last book on Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War , by Brighton. The last time I quoted from Kershaw, I was reminded of the political enthusiasm for Palin and Obama. This quote did the same thing to me. The hopes long cherished of the coming great leader eradicated the critical faculties of many intellectuals, blinding them to the magnitude of the assault on the freedom of thought as well as action that they often welcomed. Many of the neo-conservative intellectuals whose ideas had helped pave the way for the Third Reich were soon to be massively disillusioned. Hitler turned out for them in practice to be not the mystic leader they had longed for in their dreams. But they had helped prepare the ground for the Fuhrer cult that was taken up in its myriad form by so many others. Hardly a protest was raised at th...

The good news for every year starts with Jesus. As Paul writes to Titus, his protege in Crete. 3 Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us. 4 But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. 5 He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. 7 He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness. And now we know that we will inherit eternal life. Titus 3 (NLT) Hear it read aloud . Image via Wikipedia

I think the case can be made that for LDS author Stephenie Meyer , Twilight is written within the milieu of Mormonism . Thus, much of its symbolism can be seen to have derived from LDS theology. I think there are many points of contact, too many for one blog post, so I will touch on them, bit by bit. Let me assert that the vampire Cullen family are the good guys in the series. They may have weaknesses, but overall, they are the best. In fact, Bella Swan practically worships them as well Image via Wikipedia as her boyfriend, Eddie [ Munster ] Cullen. I think they represent an ideal family to Meyer. Their marble white skin has echoes of LDS theology as well, but that's for another time. One thing that sets the Cullen clan apart from most vampire clans is there "vegetarianism." They abstain from human blood. They derive their sustenance from the blood of predators like grizzlies and mountain lions. In the first book, they encounter typical vampires who get thirsty when the...

Faith Autopsy distinguishes between salvation and ethics. I replied, I don't have references in mind right now, but the Bible itself does not seem to separate salvation and ethics. There seem to be sins that, if one partakes in regularly, one should question their salvation. Arminians would consider this losing one's salvation and Calvinists would call it never truly having salvation. God is good jpu I'm frequently misunderstood, so I followed up with this. Image by Loci Lenar via Flickr I was thnking more along the lines of James 2. Faith without works is dead. I did not claim that every time I sin I lose my salvation, although that theology does exist. If you are a serial killer, you might not want to presume God has saved you and sealed you for salvation, if you can't stop killing. It's the ongoing bigger sins that are mentioned repeatedly in the sin lists throughout the epistles into revelation that we need to be concerned about, because God is concerned abou...

Wallace weighs Wright's latest book and finds it lacking . But some of the best scholars on Romans—including F. F. Bruce, Joseph Fitzmyer, Otto Kuss, Otto Michel, Douglas Moo, Sanday and Headlam, Adolf Schlatter, Tom Schreiner, and many others—are not mentioned at all . And C. E. B. Cranfield, whose linguistic work on δίκαιος and its cognates is some of the strongest defense of the ‘old perspective’ of Paul’s view of justification, is mentioned twice (pp. 16, 54 [33, 73]), both off-handed comments that involve zero substantive interaction with Cranfield’s exegesis. Wright is of course right to emphasize that there is more to the gospel than individual salvation, but what he puts above it is so abstract and so politically oriented that it really does not answer some of the basic questions we as human beings have about our standing before God, let alone our potential relationship to God.

This morning I read Galatians 1 which opens with 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age , according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Some theologians make a strong case for God's purpose is to redeem this world. But verses like this makes me think, he did come to redeem, but not everyone or everything. According to His will , some will be rescued and some won't. So God redeems individuals. The influence of the individuals can, and often do, improve the culture in which they are part. Sometimes, the culture destroys them. But no matter how many are redeemed, this present age will always be evil . But one day this age will end, when Jesus returns. If you aren't redeemed by Jesus, then he'll treat you like an enemy according to His Word; 2 Thessalonians 1, 7b when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty a...

I've been reading the Greek New Testament and have been in Revelation. The Greek forces me to take it real slow, one chapter a morning. This morning I read Revelation 16 . The seven plagues in this chapter recapitulate some of the 10 plagues sent on Egypt, blood, fire, darkness, boils, hail, and the reaction of the afflicted is the same, unrepentance, verse 9. In fact, it's worse than unrepentance. The afflicted blaspheme God, vv.11 and 21. We sometimes hope a person hits "their bottom." When the fruit of their sinful lives are no longer deniable. We hope alcoholics reach bottom. We hope drug addicts hit their bottom. But sometimes, death comes first. It's tragic. This passage tells me that for many people, death is the only "bottom" they'll acknowledge. We are entering, perhaps, an economic depression. But is there a country wide repentance? Will God be acknowledged? Will hearts soften? Jesus did say the rich have a harder time entering heaven than ...

There are two prophets in the Old Testament who seem to avoid the consequences of death for sin, Enoch and Elijah. Genesis tells us that Enoch walked with God then he was no more because God took him away (Genesis 5:24). Hebrews 11:5 confirms he didn't die and implies in the next verse that he was an example of someone who pleased God with his faith and earnest seeking of God. Elijah was witnessed by his apprentice Elisha as a fiery chariot from heaven carried him up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2). I've never heard an explanation for their exemption from the curse of death. I have heard that the two witnesses for God noted in Revelation 11 are these two who are finally killed by the beast but are resurrected 3 and a half days later and recalled to heaven. Are there any good ideas out there as to why these guys got a pass? Were they sinless and/or unstained with original sin/Adam's guilt? see other posts on the Bible , theology , and salvation

interesting report  here  and here on a sermon by Rob Bell on how are people saved. all i can say is, picking 40 verses on the topic is not enough. but hey, what's Paul got to offer?

Together for the Gospel : "One part of clarity sometimes missed by earnest evangelists, however, is the willingness to offend. Clarity with the claims of Christ certainly will include the translation of the Gospel into words that our hearer understands, but it doesn’t necessarily mean translating it into words that our hearer will like. Too often advocates of relevant evangelism verge over into being advocates of irrelevant non-evangelism. A gospel which in no way offends the sinner has not been understood. Look at Peter at Pentecost in Acts 2. He wanted to be relevant. But that relevance gave his words more bite, not less. How did Peter witness to those he wished to see saved? He said to them, among other things, “let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ,” (Acts 2:36). Relevant? Yes. Pleasing? No. Clear? Undoubtedly. Be clear about the fact of sin (Isa. 59:1-2; Hab. 1:13; Rom. 3:22-23;...